Roth: Resolution 2011: Keep Oklahoma beautiful
By Jim Roth | December 27, 2010
As you ponder self-improvements and resolutions for 2011, please consider committing or recommitting yourself to keeping Oklahoma beautiful. Put another way: Don’t lay your trash on the rest of us.
Recently, I was commuting to work when I caught a 60-year-old man littering along the roadway. He was parked along the road and throwing empty beer cans and bags of household trash out of his truck window and into the ditch near my home. Yes, that’s right. In broad daylight, he felt compelled to pull over, park his truck and dump his trash in front of my home. Yes, I pulled over and yes, we had words, colorful words. I was shocked at his brazen defense of his right to “trash” the rest of us and his seeming disregard for the rights or properties of others.
So, to the driver of the black pickup truck, I say shame on you and I hope you grow up someday to respect the world around you.
I’m sure I’m not alone. Many of you have probably witnessed fellow Oklahomans selfishly throwing trash from their car windows, or driving their bulk trash out into the countryside to anonymously dump it into the public roadway ditches. I am reminded of the television commercial from my childhood depicting a Native American man weeping in despair over the depressing effects of time and human neglect on his native land. The famous commercial shows a tear running down his aged face, indicative of the sorrow he feels inside. The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4ozVMxzNAA.
Why is it that after decades of research, after years of public outreach, and even after presidential pleas, that Americans, and yes, some Oklahomans, still insist on trashing the rest of us?
I mean, come on folks, how easy is it to simply use a trash can, and demonstrate that we have evolved as a species.
According to a study by Keep America Beautiful Inc., litter conservatively costs our nation $11.5 billion per year. That’s billion with a capital B. Litter results in decreased property values; 93 percent of homeowners, 55 percent of real estate agents and 90 percent of property appraisers surveyed stated that a littered neighborhood would decrease their assessment of a home’s value.
The study concludes that at least 51.2 billion pieces of litter are left on roadways in the U.S., an average of 6,729 pieces of litter per mile. Additionally, cigarette butts comprise 38 percent of all items littered on the highways, streets, parks and playgrounds (in urban, suburban and rural areas of America).
Litter on Oklahoma highways costs our state upward of $3.5 million each year in cleanup. It’s like we are all throwing dollars out the window, because it costs you just the same.
In 1997, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation implemented a “litter hotline,” (888)-5-LITTER.
The hotline has become very popular statewide. Callers must be able to provide the license plate number; a description of the vehicle; the time and location of the incident, including the town; and the type of litter, i.e. cigarette butt, paper, etc.
The calls do not result in actual fines, but a postcard is sent to the owner of the vehicle reported, asking them to join in the goal of keeping our roadsides attractive and our costs down.
If caught by an officer, there is a $1,000 fine for littering on Oklahoma highways. Is that a risk you want to take?
The answer should be no.
There are several things you can do to help fight Oklahoma’s problem with litter.
Most littering is committed by individuals, and can be attributable to a lack of awareness or lack of any sense of obligation, according to Keep America Beautiful Inc.
In response, Keep Oklahoma Beautiful offers many different programs that specifically target litter prevention and community cleanups. Visit the website at www.keepoklahomabeautiful.com.
Specifically, Keep Oklahoma Beautiful offers a Great American Cleanup Day, which gives community organizations the resources and opportunity to positively impact the Oklahoma environment.
Additionally, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation sponsors the “The ODOT Trash OFF,” a cleanup campaign that coincides with the Great American Cleanup and provides free supplies to individuals and community organizations.
We can all do better and should.
While I do not litter, I pledge in 2011 to help stop those who do. If you are someone who knowingly throws your trash on the rest of us, I encourage you to pledge in 2011 to keep your trash to yourself.
Oklahoma, and America, are too beautiful and don’t deserve your disrespect.
Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma corporation commissioner, is an attorney with PhillipsMurrah P.C. in Oklahoma City, where his practice focuses on clean, green energy for Oklahoma.